WARREN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2008 - Celgene Cellular
Therapeutics (CCT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Celgene
Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG), today announced the clinical
application of a human placenta-derived stem cells (HPDSCs) for
hematopoietic reconstitution. The groundbreaking transplant
occurred at the LSU Health Sciences Center Children's Hospital
(LSU) on March 28, 2008 to treat a pediatric patient with Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the bone marrow and
blood. Following the birth of the patient's sibling in December
2007, HPDSCs, along with cord blood, were collected and
cryo-preserved and both products were used in the transplant.

CCT owns proprietary technologies for collecting, processing,
and storing HPDSCs. HPDSCs are immature and versatile stem cells
with potentially broad therapeutic applications in, for example,
leukemia and other hematological malignancies, solid tumor cancers,
and autoimmune diseases. CCT is also conducting research on other
types of stem cells derived from the placenta that are obtained via
additional proprietary methodologies.

The transplant is part of a multicenter clinical trial being
conducted at LSU, together with Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
of NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia University Medical Center
using HPDSCs for patients with a range of disorders including
cancers and non-malignancies. It is a single-arm study with a
primary objective of assessing the safety of transplantation of
umbilical cord blood augmented with HPDSCs from the same donor,
with a secondary objective of assessing potential restoration of
normal hematopoiesis and immune function with this combination of
cells. Patients will be monitored carefully post-transplant for up
to 24 months to monitor safety outcomes, engraftment, and
survival.

"The patient is doing extremely well and, in fact, was
discharged from the hospital one-to-two weeks earlier compared to
traditional cord blood transplants," said Lolie C. Yu, M.D.,
Professor of Pediatrics, Division Chief of the Pediatric Heme-Onc
Program, Director of the BMT Program at LSUHSC/Children's Hospital.
"Neutrophil engraftment occurred earlier than anticipated in this
proof-of-principle study further raising our hopes regarding the
benefits of this treatment."

There is considerable anticipation around the potential of
HPDSCs. An independent study headed by researchers from UCLA
published earlier this year declared that blood-forming stem cells
originate in the placenta in laboratory animals.

"We are excited to advance our study of the placenta as a source
of stem cells that have the ability to effectively treat patients
worldwide," said Robert Hariri, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Celgene
Cellular Therapeutics. "We are pleased with this first positive
step in our effort to bring this cutting-edge therapy to the clinic
to treat sufferers with a variety of devastating diseases."

"For the first time, we are transplanting human placenta-derived
stem cells to treat patients with a variety of cancers and
non-malignant diseases," said Mitchell Cairo, M.D., who leads the
clinical trial at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and Columbia
University Medical Center, and is Chief of the Pediatric Blood and
Marrow Transplantation Division at Morgan Stanley Children's
Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian and Professor of Pediatrics,
Medicine and Pathology at Columbia University College of Physicians
and Surgeons. "Our hope is that HPDSCs, in conjunction with cord
blood stem cells, will expedite engraftment and improve treatment
for patients."

Expectant parents can cryo-preserve HPDSCs for future use
through Celgene's cord blood bank, LifebankUSA. For more
information visit www.LifebankUSA.com or call 1-877-LifebankUSA
toll-free.

About LifebankUSA

LifebankUSA, a Celgene company, is one of the largest cord blood
banks in the world, and has provided cord blood banking services
for tens of thousands of families worldwide. It has released dozens
of stem cell units for transplant worldwide to treat numerous
life-threatening diseases. LifebankUSA is also the first bank to
allow families to collect and preserve stem cells derived from the
placenta, as well as the umbilical cord (Placenta-Cord banking), to
rebuild blood and the immune system, including red blood cells,
white blood cells, and platelets. What further sets LifebankUSA
apart is an active involvement in research along with its parent
company Celgene, in a commitment to further the science of stem
cells to help ensure a more promising future for both
placenta-derived and umbilical cord blood stem cell
therapeutics.

About Celgene Cellular Therapeutics

Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Celgene Corporation, is an innovative leader in stem cell therapy
and biomaterials. CCT has a laboratory devoted to research on stem
cells derived from the human placenta and umbilical cord - both of
which are non-controversial sources of stem cells. Research on
placental stem cells by CCT has uncovered a variety of critical
biological activities creating opportunities in regenerative
medicine. Cell-based therapy offers the possibility of providing
disease-modifying outcomes that could potentially treat currently
incurable diseases.

This release contains forward-looking statements which are
subject to known and unknown risks, delays, uncertainties and other
factors not under the Company's control, which may cause actual
results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from the results, performance or other
expectations expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These factors include results of current or pending
research and development activities, actions by the FDA and other
regulatory authorities, and other factors described in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission such
as our 10K, 10Q and 8K reports.